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Murdered to Death

The Barn Theatre, Southwick Community Centre

June 3, 4, 5 & 6, 2009

Murdered to Death

by Peter Gordon

Directed by
Bob Ryder


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2260906_murdered-to-death_playbill

“Entertaining night”
– Shoreham Herald –

Cast

Judith Berrill – Mildred

Kati Szeless – Dorothy [her niece and companion]

Ray Hopper – Bunting [the Butler]

Paul Checkley – Colonel Craddock

Diane Robinson – Margaret Craddock [his wife]

Adrian Kenward – Pierre Marceau [a French Art Dealer]

Sophie Lane – Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington

Anna Quick – Joan Maple

Guy Steddon – Inspector Pratt

Tom Harris – Constable Thompkins

 

Production Crew

Stage ManagerDavid Comber

Deputy Stage ManagerJohn Garland

ASMOlive Smith

Set DesignDavid Comber

Lighting DesignMike Medway

Lighting OperatorLee Wenham

PropsMargaret Davy

PropsSue Whittaker

PropsJoan Bearman

WardrobeCherry Briggs

WardrobeMargaret Pierce

Workshop TeamDavid Collis

Workshop TeamCarl Gray

Workshop TeamSue Chaplin

Workshop TeamPaul Checkley

Workshop TeamRichard Letchford

Workshop TeamDavid Comber

Workshop TeamMargaret Davy

Workshop TeamSheila Neesham

PublicityRosemary Bouchy

PublicityLucien Bouchy

PublicityAnna Barden

PublicityRosemary Brown

PublicityJudith Berrill

Production PhotosLucien Bouchy

Front of HouseBetty Dawes

 

Programme Note #1: Murdered to Death

BR wrote: “Peter Gordon and “The Inspector Pratt Mysteries”

Peter Gordon’s plays are widely enjoyed in community theatres across the UK and world-wide. Since 1990 he has published nine full-length comedies, the best-known of which are the trilogy of murder mysteries involving the clueless Inspector Pratt. Murdered to Death was the first in the series, followed by Secondary Cause of Death and Death by Fatal Murder.

It’s fairly obvious from the titles that we are not in the realms of high drama, or even clever crime detection! These are plays that poke fun at the conventions of the ‘country house murder’ mystery, which authors like Agatha Christie have made so popular. Murdered to Death takes the classic build-up to a murder and presents us with suspects galore, all conveniently gathered for the weekend in the same country house. But then, thrown into the mix, comes the totally incompetent Inspector Pratt, accompanied by the luckless village bobby, PC Thompkins.

This is an affectionate spoof of a very British genre. We hope it raises your spirits!”